Wuxia resources [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

Li Kao

02-22-2007, 03:39 AM

Was just looking up some box office numbers and though I hate to say it, the numbers are grim indeed ...

The domestic gross for the latest Zhang Yimou movie, Curse of the Golden Flower is pretty abysmal -- a paltry 6.5 million. This is especially bad considering the downward trend his wuxia films have taken. Hero took in almost 54 million here (no doubt largely due to Jet Li) and his next, House of the Flying Daggers nabbed a considerably smaller 11 million (let's face it -- regardless of whether or not it was a worse movie or not, Zhang ZiYi and Andy Lau just aren't a huge draw yet in America). I consider Curse of the Golden Flower to be the weakest of this trilogy, but given the acting duo of Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, I am really disheartened to see such low numbers. You have to wonder how this will bode for future movies of this genre -- if someone like Zhang Yimou can't get butts in the seats, what chance do lesser known directors have of getting similiar works shown here? It would seem the wave that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon created has all but dissipated. :(

I suppose the good news is that other martial arts films are faring better. Tony Jaa continues to build steam -- Ong Bak earned 4.5 million and then he jumped to 12 million with the recent Protector and is becoming a bit of a "cult" favorite. And Jet Li is still a strong draw -- Fearless took in a very respectable 25 million, roughly the same as his previous film, Unleashed.

While numbers are certainly not the end-all judge of a movie, they do have an effect on what films make it to the big screen, and the genre as a whole, with a few exceptions, seems on the downturn again. Will it be long before all martial arts oriented movies (and HK/Asia imports specifically) will be relegated to straight-to-DVD status ala Van Damme and Seagal? Other than Tony Jaa and Jet, do you see any potential stars that could rise above the pack and become icons? (I think we are all rooting for Donnie Yen). Anyone else have any theories or thoughts on these numbers/trends? Gene, Jethro, Jimbo, PangQ, Xia, Dr. Reid -- love to hear your takes ...

Hishaam

02-22-2007, 07:00 AM

The question here is what really captured the interest of the regular movie goer, i mean for those that didn't know that this type of movie existed before seing Crouching tiger hidden dragon.

doug maverick

02-22-2007, 08:34 AM

you have to factor in how many theaters, the film is in. i think fearless was in like 11 hundred or or so. golden flower was deffently in less probably like four thousand if that much. so the numbers reflect the theaters. as for the wuxia genre, i don't think its dying i just think the filmmakers don't put any substince, just beutifull camera work, a weak story and boring martial arts. the why croaching tiger did well and fearless(not a wuxia movie btw) and hero did well was there were good fight scene's in them. america loves a good fight.

Li Kao

02-22-2007, 12:34 PM

Obviously, the theater number has a huge effect on a movie's gross in as much as it at least puts a ceiling on how many tickets can be sold. However, if a movie is successful, it will then increase the theater showings. Not sure where you got your numbers, but this may suprise you: according to www.boxofficemojo.com, the gap in theaters between the 2 movies was not really that much: at its widest release, Fearless was shown in 1,810 theaters and Curse of the Golden Flower was shown in 1,234 theaters -- I will say that Fearless had better marketing.

I think you are right though about the whole weak plot and dearth of good fight scenes -- maybe directors would fare better here in the U.S. if they made an edgier, more violent movie than trying to make it so picturesque and artful.

Jimbo

02-22-2007, 03:36 PM

I think the wuxia genre really began to fizzle after Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. IMO, what happens is, a movie is released that is unique to the U.S. mainstream audience; it gains a good following; then the filmmakers in China go on to try to capitalize on what they saw was unique to that audience, i.e., impossible flying, CGI/wire work, "exotic" Chinese stories with beautiful camerawork. But the films of course become a bit worse each time, and the emphasis on cinematic artistry and over-the-top flying battles overextends people's credulity. It becomes like watching a videogame and the uniqueness factor is gone.

It's been my observation that movies nowadays no longer make the impact they did, say, in the '70s and the '80s. Back then, if a movie was a hit, it was remembered for a long time, even to this day. Since the '90s or so, movies are more and more forgettable, even the gigantic hits. They are lost in the jumble of more and more films, and a quick DVD release, sometimes when the films are still in the theaters. As an example, compare fairly recent big hits like Titanic, Lord of the Rings, etc., to the impact that Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark made in their heyday.

People's attention spans have shortened considerably, and thus their patience with repetitive themes (such as the recent subtitled wuxia films) wears thin very fast. Things now change very rapidly, and so must the genre evolve or die.

On the brighter side, Jet Li's Fearless was an excellent film, and it did well in the theaters. I'm not sure if part of its draw was the novelty of the catchphrase, "Jet Li's final martial arts epic" or not. However, I tend to separate Fearless from the wuxia type films, as it was a true "martial arts film," as opposed to a wulin/swordplay film.

Li Kao

02-22-2007, 04:38 PM

I wouldn't consider Fearless a wuxia movie either -- probably the closest he has done to wuxia would be Kung Fu Cult Master -- Fearless being more of a period-piece straight up kung fu movie. Semantics aside, I think you hit the nail on the head about the whole "novelty" aspect of this genre, at least in terms of mainstream American audiences. Crouching Tiger was the movie that sparked the public's interest and was something new and fresh, and all of the subsequent films eventually wore out the interest of the public, to where you have Curse of the Golden Flower barely making a dent.

I know I beat this topic to death and have probably brought up the same kind of argument in several other threads, so forgive me if I sound like a broken record lately, just something I'm passionate about.

Zenshiite

02-22-2007, 08:02 PM

It seems wuxia is losing ground in China from what I understand. Mainly because there's nothing really classic about most of these films and their cast with nothing but pop stars and starlets.

Isn't Tsui Hark's Seven Swords supposed to be hitting US theaters? That I want to see, and I'm sure I could go down to Chinatown and get it... but if it's supposed to be his answer to LOTR, it could do well in the States. If it can capture the imaginations of the audience it'll do good.

I think there's very little creativity even in wuxia now... especially coming from Zhang Yimou. Sure, every frame looks like a painting, but that's about all it's got going for it. At least wuxia in the 60s and 70s was interesting. Think about Jimmy Wang Yu and how most of his characters ended up disabled in some way. One-armed Swordsman, and Soul of the Sword are great movies.

Interestingly enough, though, there's an American author about to get his first novel published... and it's a wuxia novel taking place in the Tang dynasty.

jethro

02-22-2007, 10:37 PM

To me a wuxia movie is Swordsman 2. I love to also look back on all of the old ones. Hell, I guess Chinese Super Ninjas could be considered wuxia, there were just so many of them. It was around even before straight-up kung fu movies. 'The Duel' is probably the movie that killed everything, at least for me. i didn't think Crouching Tiger was that great, but I didn't think it hurt the genre at all. I think what really killed it lately is Curse and The PRomise. Curse is not a wuxia, and teh PRomise is a bad one. Hero I would consider wuxia, it's not based off of a novel, but you have people flying around and all. Maybe no one will come along and the genre will just die. Zimou is the only real chance we have, and you can't really rely on just 1 person. At least we can look back at the 100's upon 100's of movies that were made in the 60's and 70's. WAng Yu's 'The Sword' is coming out soon:D :D :D :D :D

Edit-OMG, I only read the first 5 or 6 posts. I actually just put this comment up without reading the last one. That is just weird.

Zenshiite

02-24-2007, 08:03 AM

Seven Swords has huge promise if it ever gets released in theaters here. Other than that I'm looking for the Hong Kong dvds. I got the television version that Hark produced, and the story is great. It's HUGE. The movie, with higher budget and better actors and action stars(like Donnie Yen), is undoubtably pretty great.

doug maverick

02-24-2007, 09:52 AM

actually the weinstein, is releasing it or rather have released it on dvd, under there dragon dynasty banner the co own with QT.

zhangxihuan

02-24-2007, 09:34 PM

I think that the "genre" is not dying out... its just that the Chinese keep producing crappy movies and trying to sell it to the US as "Chinese" films, while (i would go as far as to say) betraying their older originality and appeal to a Chinese audience....
"Curse of the Golden Flower" was terrible! It was probably the worst wuxia movie I have ever seen-if it can be categorized as such...
"The Banquet" was much better....although not released in US theaters it had better cinematography, story etc....
"Seven Swords" is a fairly good film, but not quite as well done as "Hero" or "House of Flying Daggers."

Future Wuxia movies will probably fare better- Andy Lau is working on Three Kingdoms and there is another film being done by John Woo concerning the same time period.....

I think where wuxia goes wrong is when there is too much flying and no plot..
People like good plot lines....

The recent film "Battle of Wits" had a realistic plot and was well made, but didn't rely to heavily on "wirework."

The problem with transnational cinema is that sometimes it tries to hard to be transnational- and abandon's its original fan base, and alienates new ones.

Jimbo

02-24-2007, 10:31 PM

Another weak point of these films, as far as American audiences, is most people I know tell me they HATE having to read subtitles when watching a movie. When you tell them it is an acquired habit, that after watching enough such films the subtitles are easily understood without sacrificing watching the movie, they say, "Well, I guess we're not all geniuses.":rolleyes:

Now I'm not talking about people who are familiar with watching foreign subtitled films, or even your general art house crowd. It seems most of average persons want to just sit back and watch a movie and not have to "work" at reading the bottom of the screen. Yet the same people are the first to complain when a film is obviously English-dubbed.:confused:

The question was also asked about who might be an up-and-coming star to rise up. The ironic thing is, Donnie Yen, a seeming front-runner, is an old-school, established star (overseas), with a 24-year career thus far. He also lived many years in Boston, and his familiarity with English is of course top-notch.

Chow Yun-Fat is the better actor of the two, is even older-school, but only plays a martial artist on screen. But for an American audience, he was another advantage; Chow is taller than Yen, at least 6' or a little over. It CAN make a difference onscreen as far as American audiences are concerned (Tom Cruise notwithstanding). Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the Donnie Yen thread, Chow is forced to play Asian-themed stories in the U.S., and in Bulletproof Monk had to even spout fortune-cookie proverb crap. A long way from his better works such as Full-Contact, Hard-Boiled, etc. I believe Chow's acting would be suppressed or stunted by co-starring him with a "real American actor" like Mark Wahlberg in The Corruptor, or with a rap star like what happened with Jet Li.

I heard that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon did not do very well overall in Asia. I suppose the basic theme had been there done that, albeit without the high budget. Sammo Hung mentions in the SPL extras that action-type movies are the least popular now in HK (I take that to include martial arts and/or swordplay/period films as well).

zhangxihuan

02-25-2007, 07:43 AM

Crouching Tiger is not well liked by most Chinese.... they think the movie is either "lame" or "terrible." Most wuxia films overwhelmingly these days that we end up seeing in the US are not considered good by Asian viewers. I think mainly because they portray Chinese society inaccurately, and this is the main reason why they are disliked in Asia.

Li Kao

02-25-2007, 03:09 PM

Jimbo -- my dad is someone who is militantly against subtitles with non-English movies, to the point where he simply refuses to watch anything, in a foreign language, with subtitles. The irony is that as his hearing has declined, he now puts up English subtitles on English movies. I have to say it makes me laugh every time we get together for a movie now. Myself, like you, I am so used to reading subtitles that I don't even give it a second thought. And if I am given a choice to watch it in English-dubbed or Mandarin/Cantonese with subtitles -- I go for the subtitles.

Regarding the premise that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon bombed in Asia and was not liked very well by Chinese audiences -- it's very true for the most part. Though that movie was truly shown across the world, over half of its gross came from America. I came across a really good assessment of American tastes in cinema vs. Chinese tastes, and how the current Wuxia films play into all this. It's fairly long, so I'll just post the link (http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/womenWarriors/kim2.html), but it brings up some really interesting points, and I'll include a few of the quotes from Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu that I thought were pertinent to this discussion:

"The greatest irony of contemporary Chinese cinema seems to be that some films achieve a transnational status precisely because they are seen as possessing an authentically 'national,' 'Chinese,' 'Oriental' flavor by Western audiences. In the meantime, the domestic Chinese audience dismisses the same films as 'misrepresentations' and 'mystifications' of China" (Lu, 1997).

“Now, in a remarkable reversal of fortune, it is the West that points out what is outstanding and characteristically Chinese in artworks from China. In the same process, the position of Chinese viewers is decentered, and the field of vision of the West takes the central seat” (Lu, 1997).

And another take on why Crouching Tiger fared so poorly in China:

“Weaned on gun battles and hyperkinetic action of Jackie Chan, people did not have the patience for Mr. Lee’s moody, contemplative look at the trials of heroic warriors in legendary China” (Landler, 2001)

And finally, an assessment of Ang Lee (not saying I totally agree though):

“Kung fu reached such levels of enthusiasm in the West that some Chinese now scoff at what they see as naïve U.S. infatuation with it. And some critics accuse Ang Lee of “orientalizing” his film. That is, choosing images of the East that play to over-romanticized images that Americans supposedly want to see” (Marquand, 2001).

It's all food for thought ...

Jimbo

02-25-2007, 08:33 PM

Li Kao:
It does make sense what you quoted in your post. In fact, those are things I have 'felt' about the recent, brief "infatuation" the West has been having for Chinese and "Oriental" themed films of late. I think I could go a step further on that: The West has long had a fascination for Asian women. You can see the ideas in old movies, where the Westerner, usually American, is the rescuer of the Asian woman from her own "repressive" culture. All the way up to the mini-series' based on novels of James Clavell (such as Shogun, Noble House, etc.). Western women, in turn, often seem intrigued by the stories of Chinese women's lives (such as Joy Luck Club, etc.).

The exotic image of "the Mysterious Orient" still seems alive today. Although it wasn't so popular, the recent Memoirs of a Geisha seems a good example of the Westerner's fascination with Asian women. And it doesn't matter to them if Japanese performers are switched for Chinese or vice versa. Gong Li has become the idealized Asian female lover to the male romantic lead in American/Euro films. Lucy Liu and Bai Ling, Shu Qi, Maggie Cheung, and Michelle Yeoh also play/played those roles.

The Orientalizing was also seen in The Last Samurai, with Ken Watanabe portraying the exotic Asian Wise Man, speaking like a zen self-help book. When you know in history that life for your typical Chinese or Japanese living in those times was anything but artsy-smartsy and exotic.

I personally like the low-budget old Shaw Brothers wuxia films directed by Chu Yuan a lot better than CTHD and the other new ones. They lacked the budget, but there was, IMO, a more pure(?) feeling to them (not sure if that's the right word for it).

lonewolf

02-26-2007, 12:40 AM

i'm still waiting for donny yen to make some kind of grand appearence in the US rather then getting crappy movie roles. those of you that have been to the donny yen underestimated? thread already know this. as for curse of the golden flower (cgf) it played in my town in one theater for a week and it was gone. by the time that i knew it was here it was gone. no advertising on television or anything. i know that we can say that asian films are doing bad in the box office but has anybody here looked into the decline of ticket sales in the US over all? they have nobody is going. they charge too much for a movie people can now watch at home on a flat screen plasma TV with surround sound. i work in a hospital and everybody has seen most of the MA films that have come out since CTHD, people are watch, at home. theaters are over priced and people aren't willing to go anymore.

Zenshiite

03-02-2007, 12:42 PM

Yeah, there's that. I mean, I went to a kiosk in a local shopping mall and bought House of Flying Daggers long before it hit US theaters. A guy I work with saw Fearless like a year before it hit theaters in the US. In a global marketplace it's pointless to wait so long to release a film over seas when it's going to be on DVD before you even know it and I can get it in Chinatown, or at the local kiosk in the mall that sells kung fu movies almost exclusively... or hop online and buy those DVDs from almost any site.

I'll admit, I am dazzled by certain imagery. I do, however, tend to prefer older wuxia over the new now. Nothing really beats Shaw brothers work. On that note. You guys gotta check out www.jaman.com... you download a player and become a member to the site and you can download like 45 classic Shaw films for free and have a liscense to view them for 7 days. Or you can buy it for 5 bucks. Great stuff on there like the Sentimental Swordsman.

doug maverick

08-01-2008, 11:36 AM

stumbled upon this haven't really looked through it but it looks interesting:

http://wuxiapedia.com/

Zenshiite

08-02-2008, 08:17 AM

I love this website.

Lots of mostly partial fan translations of classic wuxia novels from Jin Yong, Gu Long etc. A few informative articles too.

GeneChing

01-28-2010, 12:43 PM

The Anatomy of a Wuxia Novel (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=873) by Simon McNeil

Zenshiite

01-30-2010, 09:42 AM

Good article. I was pleasantly surprised to see it when I logged on yesterday.

ghostexorcist

01-30-2010, 04:15 PM

I started a thread a while back about a book called Green Peony and the Rise of the Chinese Martial Arts Novel, which lays out the origin of the wuxia novel.

See here:

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=946051#post946051

I never finished reading the book, though. It was just so darn scholastically dry that I lost interest in it. And when I say dry, I mean Sahara desert dry. I read alot of scholarly books, so I know all about the various levels of literary aridness and this book tops the chart.

SimonM

03-24-2010, 05:42 PM

ghostexorcist

03-24-2010, 06:01 PM

Hey there,

I've got a few letters in response to my Wuxia article. Most of those have been simple comments of appreciation. To those of you who did so I have to say thank you.

I have also had a spirited discussion with a reader who feels that my statements to the effect that Confucian ethics inform Wuxia are incorrect.

I invite this reader to discuss this topic here as I am interested to understand why he feels that novels in the genre, such as Return of the Condor Heroes and Datang Youxia Zhuan represent a separate philosophical corpus as distinct, as he put it, as Mohism from Confucianism.
The book The Chinese Knight-Errant (1967), by Prof. James J.Y. Liu, states the historical youxia's ideals and beliefs matched up with the following religions from least to greatest (the list is mine, he actually provides a lot of reasons why):

1. Legalist
2. Confucian
3. Taoist
4. Mohist

I do not have time to elaborate further as I am currently studying for a huge test in my Herpetology class. If I find the time in the next couple of days, I will transcribe the section.

This might have some bearing on the discussion since Knights-errant are common features in wuxia novels.

Phil Redmond

03-24-2010, 10:01 PM

Speaking on Wuxia, check this thread
http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56805

SimonM

03-25-2010, 06:32 AM

The book The Chinese Knight-Errant (1967), by Prof. James J.Y. Liu, states the historical youxia's ideals and beliefs matched up with the following religions from least to greatest (the list is mine, he actually provides a lot of reasons why):

1. Legalist
2. Confucian
3. Taoist
4. Mohist

The person who wrote to me referenced that book in his initial EMail.
However it is mistaken to conflate historical youxia entirely with the fictional genre of wuxia, even if youxia are used as stock characters within the genre.

sanjuro_ronin

03-25-2010, 07:09 AM

SimonM

03-25-2010, 10:21 AM

Thanks mate! How you been keeping lately?

Lucas

03-25-2010, 11:26 AM

very nice read

ghostexorcist

03-25-2010, 02:13 PM

The person who wrote to me referenced that book in his initial EMail.
However it is mistaken to conflate historical youxia entirely with the fictional genre of wuxia, even if youxia are used as stock characters within the genre.
I know. That's why I italicized historical. I just figured you could use the info in your discussion.

Keep up the good work.

SimonM

03-31-2010, 11:13 AM

Thanks for that, I do throw occasional articles in Gene's direction though I am still concentrating mostly on the book. I'm editing draft 4. It'll be good enough to start seeking an agent soon.

ghostexorcist

03-31-2010, 11:47 AM

Thanks for that, I do throw occasional articles in Gene's direction though I am still concentrating mostly on the book. I'm editing draft 4. It'll be good enough to start seeking an agent soon.
What is your book about?

SimonM

03-31-2010, 12:16 PM

It's a science fiction novel influenced by Dune, the works of Tolkien and the works of Jin Yong. Especially the latter and the former.

ghostexorcist

03-31-2010, 01:01 PM

That is one crazy mix of genres. Let me know when you publish it.

I'm working on three books that I will probably never finish. Two are martial arts-based and the other is an adventure sort of deal.

SimonM

04-01-2010, 12:25 PM

Ecological Sci Fi and Wuxia both play into a post pseudo-apocalypse setting quite well. ;)

Also both Herbert and Jin Yong liked to deal with issues of religion and politics and how they relate... as do I. :D

TenTigers

11-14-2010, 08:21 PM

I happen to really prefer the wu xia Mo Hop Peen to the more modern types of film. I like the fantasy mixed with martial morality, and fantastic powers/prowess.
These come to mind:
Heaven Sword Dragon Saber,
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Condor Heroes
Swordsman
What are your faves? Recommendations?

mickey

11-15-2010, 08:25 AM

Hi TenTigers,

Of the new era swordplay movies, I enjoyed the Chinese Ghost Story films.

I did like Swordsman because it did not portray women as bit players. I also enjoyed the scene when the defeated master lost his tooth biting the food: "Am I biting this or is it biting me?"

I prefer some of the earlier stuff:

Sentimental Swordsman parts one and two

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Killer Constable

mickey

Jimbo

11-15-2010, 08:41 AM

Off the top of my head:

Last Hurrah For Chivalry.

Kid With the Golden Arm (actually more of a kung fu/wuxia pian).

The B@st@rd Swordsman.

Return of the B@st@rd Swordsman.

The One-Armed Swordsman (original).

The Deadly Breaking Sword.

The House of Traps.

The Sword.

The Bells of Death.

The Sentimental Swordsman.

Return of the Sentimental Swordsman.

The Flag of Iron (could be loosely considered a wuxia pian).

Brothers Five.

mickey

11-15-2010, 11:03 AM

Well,

Since Jimbo widened the field, I will have to add:

Clutch of Power

Gang Master

mcikey

jethro

11-15-2010, 01:31 PM

Some great ones listed. My favorite is Sword Stained with Royal Blood with Yuen Biao. Some others not listed yet-

Avenging Eagle
The Magic Blade
5 Element Ninja
Shaolin Prince
Shaolin Intruders
Face Behind the Mask
Miraculous Flower
Hero with Jet Li
House of Flying Daggers
Green Snake
Bride with White Hair

GeneChing

11-15-2010, 01:38 PM

These two 2010 flicks are heralding the return of wuxia cinema.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52870)

Reign of Assassins (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54260)

Jimbo

11-15-2010, 07:21 PM

Legend of the Fox.

Have Sword Will Travel.

jethro

11-28-2010, 01:57 AM

A couple other top notch wuxias that I forgot to list-

Full Moon Scimitar
Secret Service of the Imperial Court

Liu Kang

12-01-2010, 11:26 PM

The trailer for The Warrior's Way looks interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Qi9QaL0Lg

GeneChing

12-02-2010, 10:15 AM

I'm going to a screener of Warrior's Way (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53085) tonight. I'll review it tomorrow morning on the hyperlinked thread.

SimonM

06-09-2011, 09:04 AM

Draft 6 is finished, submitted to a few publishers, no word back yet. Probably going to have to be a trilogy as the story ended up clocking in at over 3000000 words. Cut draft 6 back to proper novel length by arranging a somewhat arbitrary climax and ending leading into future stories. ;)

SimonM

07-01-2011, 05:55 PM

I discovered an interesting Wuxia fansite.

Check it out.

http://sevensages.genreverse.com/

SimonM

07-08-2011, 05:00 PM

Want to try your hand at writing some wuxia short fiction?

Check this out: The official page for the Wuxia Anthology. (http://wuxia.genreverse.com/) :D :D :D

SimonM

07-13-2011, 06:10 AM

So anybody thinking about submitting?

ngokfei

07-28-2012, 01:07 PM

http://www.ancientchinese.net/index.php

SimonM

07-29-2012, 07:51 AM

Nice find, thanks.

GeneChing

08-10-2017, 10:15 AM

Wuxia (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?51641-Wuxia-resources) writing & whiskey (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59392-Let-s-talk-Whisky!). wow.

Chinese tourist pays $10,000 for a single whiskey shot at Swiss bar (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/08/10/expensive-whiskey-shot.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON AUG 10, 2017 4:50 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_whiskey.jpg

How much would you pay for a shot of whiskey? $10? $100? How about, $10,000?
Because that's apparently how much one Chinese tourist forked out to gulp down a shot of Macallan at the luxury Waldhaus Hotel's Devil's Place Whiskey Bar in Switzerland last week.
The whiskey was made in 1878 by the revered Scotch maker Macallan. As the last of its kind, it could be the most expensive whiskey in the world.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_whiskey2.jpg

Meanwhile, the wealthy whiskey enthusiast wasn't just any deep-pocketed tourist, but Zhang Wei, China's highest-paid online novelist, beloved by fans for his series of wuxia novels. Last week, he stunned Weibo with a post describing how he had paid 9,999 Swiss francs ($10,331) for just a single shot of whiskey.
“I was in Switzerland and saw a 100-year-old whiskey. I didn’t spend long weighing up whether to get it,” he wrote. “In a nutshell, it tasted good. I was drinking not so much the whiskey but a lot of history.”
Zhang also noted that the 139-year-old whiskey was older than his 82-year-old grandmother who he had brought along for his trip to Switzerland.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_whiskey3.jpg

After reports of Zhang's extravagant purchase went viral, rumors started to circulate that the Macallan was, in fact, a forgery, prompting the hotel to submit its bottle of 1878 Macallan for "extremely rigorous" testing, a process which could take several months.

GeneChing

11-02-2017, 08:32 AM

NOT 10K after all (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59392-Let-s-talk-Whisky!&p=1304227#post1304227).

World's priciest whisky bought by Chinese millionaire revealed to be fake (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/02/worlds-priciest-whisky-bought-chinese-millionaire-fake/)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/11/02/TELEMMGLPICT000145448831_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqrWYeUU_ H0zBKyvljOo6zlkYMapKPjdhyLnv9ax6_too.jpeg?imwidth= 1400
Zhang Wei, centre, splashed out £7,600 on the world's most expensive whisky shot in the Waldhaus am See hotel in St Moritz, Switzerland CREDIT: SANDRO BERNASCONI

Nicola Smith, taipei
2 NOVEMBER 2017 • 12:48PM

When Chinese millionaire, Zhang Wei, splashed out £7,600 on the world’s most expensive whisky shot in a Swiss bar, he boasted to his fans that it was the same age as his great, great grandmother would have been – 139 years old.

Unfortunately for the martial arts fantasy writer, the headlines generated not only admiration, but suspicion by experts who doubted the authenticity of the spirit’s true provenance when they spotted discrepancies in the bottle’s cork and label.

An analysis from Scottish experts has now confirmed that Mr Zhang was unwittingly duped into buying a fake dram, and the Waldhaus am See hotel in St Moritz has recently flown its manager, Sandro Bernasconi, to China to reimburse him, reported the BBC.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/11/02/TELEMMGLPICT000070043865_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQfMTxcT zWVbqCFMGyzs1iOyUq2cNTq2A9BNg5VCQiY8.jpeg?imwidth= 1240
Analysis has shown the whisky was not as advertised CREDIT: DAVID CHESKIN/PA WIRE

The whisky had been poured from an unopened bottle labelled as an 1878 Macallan single malt, and Mr Zhang’s shot is believed to have been the largest sum ever paid for a poured dram of Scotch. Had the bottle been genuine, it would have been worth £227,000.

When doubts emerged about its provenance, the hotel sent the whisky to specialists in Dunfermline who carried out carbon dating tests that showed it was probably made between 1970 and 1972. Further lab tests revealed it was probably a blended a Scotch and not a single malt.

Mr Bernasconi flew to China to break the bad news to Mr Zhang and to pay him back but he said the author was not angry. “He thanked me very much for the hotel’s honesty,” he told the BBC.

Wuxia (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?51641-Wuxia-resources) writing + whiskey (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59392-Let-s-talk-Whisky!) = fake (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57980-Chinese-Counterfeits-Fakes-amp-Knock-Offs)